On the Verge of Generation Z: Career Expectations of Current University Students

Abstract

Generation Z is currently starting to enter the world of work. The present study reports preliminary
findings of research that aims to explore career preferences of Generation Z university students in
Slovakia. The primary objective was to elaborate on the existing theoretical and empirical work on
Generation Y by examining the extent to which factors that have been recognized as determinants of
Generation Y’s work-related expectations also matter to Generation Z. Based on the sample of 237
university students the results suggest that in search for a future employer, nature of job and work-life
balance are the most important factors. Work-life balance is an important factor in terms of career
expectations as well as job retention. Also, Generation Z expect their jobs to yield internal satisfaction
and consider reward a strong factor of both job retention and work satisfaction. While these findings to
some extent identify the overlaps between career preferences of both generations, further research is
needed to explore potential unique career expectations of Generation Z.

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Proceedings of
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ISBN: 978-0-9860419-7-6
Education Excellence and Innovation Management through Vision 2020:
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Editor
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On the Verge of Generation Z:
Career Expectations of Current University Students
Zuzana Kirchmayer, Faculty of Management, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
zuzana.kirchmayer@fm.uniba.sk
Jana Fratričová, Faculty of Management, Comenius University in Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
jana.fratricova@fm.uniba.sk
Abstract
Generation Z is currently starting to enter the world of work. The present study reports preliminary
findings of research that aims to explore career preferences of Generation Z university students in
Slovakia. The primary objective was to elaborate on the existing theoretical and empirical work on
Generation Y by examining the extent to which factors that have been recognized as determinants of
Generation Y’s work-related expectations also matter to Generation Z. Based on the sample of 237
university students the results suggest that in search for a future employer, nature of job and work-life
balance are the most important factors. Work-life balance is an important factor in terms of career
expectations as well as job retention. Also, Generation Z expect their jobs to yield internal satisfaction
and consider reward a strong factor of both job retention and work satisfaction. While these findings to
some extent identify the overlaps between career preferences of both generations, further research is
needed to explore potential unique career expectations of Generation Z.
Keywords: Generation Y, Generation Z, career, human resource management, Slovakia.
Introduction
In both academic and practitioner literature, a lot has been written about different generational cohorts in
the workforce, that are said to be different from each other in ways important for managers (Macky et al.
2008), their specifics and resulting implications for HR. Currently, there are three prevailing generations
in the workplace – Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y (Tapscott 2009). During the last
decade, Generation Y was the main focus of the authors researching work-related generational specifics
as it presented the youngest pool of talent entering the world of work. Today, a new generation is
assuming the position of “the youngest in the workforce” – Generation Z has already entered universities,
as well as their first jobs. According to predictions and initial research, they share a different set of
values, motives, and attitudes to work-related issues than Generation Y and thus, again, present a new
challenge for employers.
The present preliminary study has a primary objective to elaborate on the existing theoretical and
empirical work on Generation Y by examining the extent to which factors that have been recognized as
determinants of Generation Y’s work-related expectations and behaviours also matter to Generation Z.
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1 Generations Y and Z in the Workplace
A “generation” is defined as “an identifiable group that shares birth years, age, location and significant
life events at critical developmental stages” (Kupperschmidt 2000: 66). When society changes
generations tend to adopt a different mindset, which leads to different beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and
values (Xander et al. 2012).
Generation Y, also often referred to as “the Millennium Generation”, “Echo Boomers”, “Generation
Next” (Sheahan 2005; Parry and Urwin 2011), or “the Millennials” (Kultalahtii and Viitala 2015), was
born between early 1980s and approximately 1995 (see e.g. Parry and Urwin 2011, Lyon et al. 2010,
Hays 2013). This “most technically literate, educated and ethnically diverse generation in history” (Eisner
2005, p. 6), provides a challenge for management, as “everyone sees the world their own way” (Sheahan
2005:205).
According to the studies, Generation Y expects work to be meaningful (Dries et al., 2008), and seeks
interesting and challenging job content (De Hauw and De Vos 2010; Baruch 2004) with dynamic tasks
(Kultalahti and Viitala 2015) and consistent and constructive feedback (Martin 2005). They seek constant
learning and development, and expect support and care while doing so (Sturges et al. 2002; Broadlbride et
al. 2007; Kultalahti and Viitala 2015). Similarly to previous generations, job security and salary is
important for them (De Hauw and De Vos 2010; Dries et al. 2008), however, they prefer instant bonuses
and various benefits more (Hurst and Good 2009). They attach a lot of importance to self-actualization,
intrinsic benefits, social relations, and a supportive work environment (Solnet and Hood 2008; Kultalahti
and Viitala 2015), and are concerned with fairness, equality and tolerance from their future employment
(Broadlbride et al. 2007). Career progression and advancement is very important for them (Wong et al.
2008, De Hauw and De Vos 2010; Broadlbride et al. 2007), on the other hand, they require work-life
balance (Cennamo and Gardner 2008; Kultalahti and Viitala 2015), as work is considered to be just one
part of their lives not more important as the other ones.
Exploring the specifics and stereotypes of particular generation, is often followed by number of
suggestions applying to almost all human resource functions (see e.g. Pwc 2011; Kilber et al. 2014;
Dziewanowska et al. 2016; Hays 2013). In the last decade, Generation Y has brought a lot of changes in
human resource management practices. There has been a call for more flexibility in terms of working
hours as well as compensation structures less determined by the monitoring of time spent at the
workplace but the amount of work output, utilizing sophisticated communication, creating a continuous
learning environment, setting up mentoring systems, enhancing recognition programs, instant and
continuous feedback, as well as being more clear on values and behaviors of the organization and
providing bigger picture and adding more purpose to their work (Kultalahti and Viitala 2015; Shaw and
Fairhurst 2008; Weyland 2011; Stacho and Stachová 2015; Remišová et al. 2014; Remišová and
Lašáková 2014).
Nowadays, Generation Z, also known as Generation C (connected) (Krejčová and Tomášková 2014), as
they are often seen as “digital natives” (Friedrich et al. 2010) born between 1995 and 2010 (Seemiller and
Grace 2016; Koulopoulos and Keldsen 2016) is rapidly replacing Generation Y on college campuses
(Seemiller and Grace 2016) and just beginning to enter the world of work. Though many organizations
have succeeded in adjusting their practices to the changed expectations of Generation Y, the challenge
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starts over again with Generation Z beginning to enter the workforce. As for Generation Z, they are
expected to encourage the increasing virtualization of the organizations, 24/7 connectivity, social
networking, as well as demand more personal freedom and thus continue to move organizations away
from traditional hierarchical structures. (Friedrich et al. 2010). Only further research will show how much
different their expectations, motivations, values, requirements and talents are from previous generation,
and how much shift in HR practices they would inspire.
2 Research Methodology
The sample for this study consisted of 237 Slovak university students currently studying towards their
bachelor’s degree in management. Based on previous literature review, the target respondents for the
sample were defined as management students born in 1995 or later with no limitations regarding the
mode of study (full-time versus part-time), field specialization (strategy, finance, marketing, human
resources) gender and existing work experience. Initial data collection was carried out in Q4 2016. For
the purpose of the preliminary study, we have decided to limit data collection to one selected faculty,
taking time to test the data collection instrument, formulate preliminary findings and decide on any
potential changes in further data collection and methodology.
A prevailing majority of respondents (89,5%) were born at the very beginning of the period that is
currently acknowledged as the Generation Z’s birth years i.e. 1995/1996. Approximately 10% of
respondents were born in 1997 and the remaining 0,5% of respondents were born in 1998. The sample is
thus literally on the verge of Generation Z implying that some results will have to be interpreted with
caution and with regard to the potential crossover with the Generation Y.
In order to explore career expectations, the respondents were asked to assess the importance of a set of
factors in four phases of the employee-employer relationship: 1) decision-making in the process of
searching for potential employers, 2) career expectations, 3) retention, and 4) work satisfaction. All
factors were assessed on a 5-point scale. The factors examined in individual phases of the employee-
employment relationship were all derived from previous theoretical analyses of a number of works
dealing with the themes of Generation Y and Generation Z. Respondents also had a chance to add one
extra factor on top of those listed.
In the 1st and 3rd part of the questionnaire, respondents were asked to assess to the importance of each
factor (regarding their decision-making in the process of searching for a new employer (1st part) and their
retention (3rd part)) on a scale ranging from 1 meaning “this factor is not important at all” to 5 meaning
“this factor is of crucial importance”. They also had a chance to add one extra factor on top of those
listed. In the 2nd and the 4th part of the questionnaire, the respondents rated how strongly they agreed or
disagreed with statements describing their career expectations (2nd part) and work satisfaction (4th part),
ranging from 1 meaning “I do not agree at all” to 5 meaning “I totally agree”.
Data obtained have been transferred to MS Excel spreadsheet to obtain descriptive statistics. The
importance of individual factors in four phases of the employer-employee relationship was based on
calculation of mean values for all answers within each factor. Since this is a preliminary study, we have
not performed any further statistical analyses at this point.
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3 Research Results and Discussion
The results for all factors within each of the four phases are shown in Table 1. The mean values of all
researched items are above 3, which means that students born on the verge of Generation Z perceive all of
them at least partially important.
As for the phase of decision-making in search for a potential future employer, the results indicate that the
nature of job in question (4.02) and work-life balance (4.02) have the highest importance on decision-
making of Generation Z students, followed by job security (4.0), work-flexibility (3.92), and
opportunities for training and development (3.70). On the other hand, possibility to travel abroad as a part
of job duties (3.22) together with organizational values and CSR (3.25), offered benefits (3.34), the image
of the organization (3.37), and opportunity for fast career growth (3.48) seem to play only a partially
important role in the process of choosing a potential employer.
The aspects of an individual job also seem to be crucial in terms of career expectations. More specifically,
a job that yields internal satisfaction is largely expected by Generation Z participants (4.52) just like
work-life balance in the job (4.36), and development of skills and proficiency (4.24). Good relationship
with the boss (4.13) seems to be equally important to good reward and wealth (4.13) and only a little
more sought than job security (4.09). On the other hand, it seems that most respondents do not assume
that autonomy in what they do (3.83), or social life related to their work will play a major role in their
careers (3.64). After all, living one’s social life outside work environment is in line with the highly
requested work-life balance.
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Table 1 Results for the four phases of the employee-employer relationship
As for job retention, it is important to note, that compared to previous phases of the employer-employee
relationship, it is a construct harder to measure in Generation Z students since most have very limited
work experience. Even though most respondents in our sample reported to have some work experience,
given their academic duties one can assume that much of this experience consisted of part-time or one-
time jobs for a limited period of time. It can thus be hard for students to imagine what factors might
potentially bring them to a decision to leave or remain with their current employer in the future. As a
result, these answers will have to be interpreted rather as “what Generation Z students think will
determine their attachment to their jobs in the future” than “what actually determines that Generation Z
will be kept attached to their jobs”.
Students on the verge of Generation Z imagine that reward (4.21) along with work-life balance (4.20) are
going to be the most substantial factors keeping them in their future jobs, followed by good relationship
Factors Mean Std. dev Factors Mean Std. dev
Opportunity for fast career growth 3.48 0.78 Benefits 3.44 0.92
Training & development opp ortunities 3.70 0.74 Work flexibility 3.92 0.91
Job s ecurity 4.00 0.88 Possibility to travel abroad 3.22 1.13
Work-life balance 4.02 0.90 Organizational values and CSR 3.25 0.95
Nature of job 4.02 0.89 Image of the organization 3.37 0.98
Factors Mean Std. dev Factors Mean Std. dev
A job that yields internal satisfaction 4.52 0.64 Autonomy in what I do 3.83 0.80
A secure job 4.09 0.82 Good social life related to work 3.64 1.00
Good reward and wealth 4.13 0.73 Good relationship with my bos s 4.13 0.77
Development of s kills and proficiency 4.24 0.67 Work-life balance 4.36 0.76
Factors Mean Std. dev Factors Mean Std. dev
Image of the organization where I work 3.14 0.99 Autonomy 3.51 0.81
Job s ecurity 3.98 0.88 Organizational culture and values 3.44 0.85
Work-life balance 4.20 0.81 Flexible working time 3.92 0.91
Reward 4.21 0.72 Good relationship with the boss 4.03 0.81
Friendly work environment 3.84 0.92
Social life related to work 3.52 1.01
Factors Mean Std. dev Factors Mean Std. dev
The feeling that I have impact 3.91 0.85 Financial reward 4.42 0.65
Possibility to help others 3.91 0.91 Training and development 4.18 0.72
Interes ting and diverse job 4.42 0.65 Problem-solving 3.64 0.89
Succes s 4.37 0.7 Being a member of a motivated team 3.87 0.88
Recognition 4.24 0.81 The feeling of contributing to
something meaningful 4.30 0.79
Job satisfaction
Search for a future potential employer
Career expectations
Job retention
Possibility to work on interesting
assignments 4.01 0.87
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with the boss (4.03), possibility to work on interesting assignments (4.01), job security (3.98), flexible
working time (3.92), and friendly work environment (3.84). For job retention of Generation Z
specifically, organization-based factors (image of the organization – 3.14; organizational culture and
values – 3.44) seem to be overwhelmed by factors linked to individual jobs, reward and work-life balance
in particular. Social life related to work (3.52) as well as autonomy in one’s job (3.51), however, do not
seem to play a leading role in terms of Generation Z job retention – just like they were not identified as
major factors in terms of career expectations.
In terms of job satisfaction, preliminary results indicate that financial reward and job diversity (both 4.42)
together with success (4.37), the feeling of contributing to something meaningful (4.30), and recognition
(4.24) are most likely sources of Generation Z’s job satisfaction. On the other hand, problem-solving
(3.64) and being part of a motivated team (3.87) seem to play a secondary role in this matter.
Out of all factors examined in this study, we would like to point out one that resonates throughout the
results, namely work-life balance. Results suggest that work-life balance seems to be a highly valued
factor for Generation Z in terms of job search, career expectations as well as job retention, which seems
to be in line with existing research findings on Generation Y (see e.g. Cennamo and Gardner 2008;
Kultalahti and Viitala 2015). Our preliminary findings add support to the argument that work-life balance
scores high on the priority list of Generation Z, just like it did and still does for Generation Y. Moreover,
there is a good reason to suppose that the generational aspect will increasingly take the discussion on
work-life balance beyond its traditional framework of conflict between work and family roles. It has been
indicated that individual background and personal circumstances – including marital status and children –
had no association with either work-life conflict or organizational commitment (Sturges and Guest 2004).
While Generation Y is increasingly engaged in some kind of family roles to accompany their professional
roles, Generation Z has hardly entered the word of work by now. Still, work-life balance is of great
importance to them, imposing that organizations will have to manage this issue very carefully. Aiming for
a set of supportive work-life balance policies might potentially impose higher standards on commitment
and actual implementation of diverse approaches to work-life balance management within organizations
in the future.
Conclusion
Every time a new generation enters the workforce, managers tend to struggle to understand the new group
(Gelbart and Komninos 2012) as it is assumed that generations differ and therefore understanding the
different motives, attitudes and personality profiles is crucial for attracting and retaining talented
workforce from a particular generation. Nowadays, a new generation is entering the world of work and
thus attracts its attention. Employers are eager to understand them in order to help them flourish, and
support their performance.
The preliminary results presented in this paper represent a preview of the upcoming changes in perception
of different work-related factors through the eyes of the “newcoming” Generation Z. However, they are
not thorough and cannot be generalized. The research sample was not diverse as all respondents included
in this phase of our study are currently studying at the same faculty in Bratislava. More research is needed
to verify and deepen the fingdings.
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In our study, we have assessed the importance of the factors that were on top of the list of the previous
generation, but more research on unique preferences, motivations and attitudes is needed to see the full
picture of Generation Z. It is also possible that the identified preferences are more age-based than
generation-based. A future comparative study with a much larger sample of Generation Z would be
beneficial, as they just start entering the world of work, and their preferences might evolve once they
enter their full-time time jobs.
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